Begild the Sage
Begild the Sage was a human astronomer, mathematician, diviner, and political powerhouse from Kythelum. In addition to creating the Begildan Calendar and the Common language, she played an instrumental role in the Southern Esperean Consolidation War, the deposition of Dubain, and the formation of the Kythel Federation. History Early Life Begild was the daughter of Queen Algild of Kythelum, and the younger sister of Almaer. She was born late in the Winter following the return of the queen from an attempted kidnapping, and raised paranoid as a result. Much of her official education revolved around military matters. However, Begild took a keen interest in the motion of the sky, which she managed to study on her own time. Almaer Becomes King At some point, Algild was struck by Adakaku, after which point she was corrupted over time by her growing paranoia. Algild was quietly escorted away from the castle when it became clear that she was transforming into a monster. With the queen gone, Almaer was crowned king of Kythelum at the age of fifteen. Begild, nine at the time, was notably absent from her brother's coronation. She had been brought to Prìomh-Bhaile, the capital of Ionad Mòr-Thìr, by a royal envoy attempting to arrange a (future) marriage to end the tensions between the two nations. This offer was rejected, with no reason given. Study of Magic With Almaer on the throne, Begild was afforded more control over her own schedule than her mother had given her. She spent many hours in the royal library, during which she was able to begin building a working knowledge of divination. Using her studies of the sky as a foundation, Begild constructed an early version of her calendar in the Winter leading up to her sixteenth birthday. As she used divination to try and cross-reference her work, she incidentally caught a glimpse of the inner workings of magic that inspired her to pour hours of study into the power of cooperation among humanoids. She created an early model of the Theory of Tiers in secret. Begild assumed that the common people would be more loyal to the king than a princess. So, armed with the knowledge that a sufficiently organized group of humans could act with a force equivalent to a deity, she resolved to guide her brother in constructing such a group. Begild initially aspired to use the power of organized humanity to create things that would improve Kythelum. However, applying her divination magic to the monsters captured by the army of Kythelum led her to connect their appearance to the fued between Dubain and Ameya. This realization combined with Begild's existing goals sparked an idea: a grand plot that would confirm her research, enrich her home, and deliver justice to her enemies all at once. Planning the War Begild was unsure of how Almaer would react to her full plan, so she decided to lead him through it one step at a time. The first step was to stoke his anger against Ionad Mòr-Thìr. Her study of the monsters had revealed how they came to be, but she claimed the exact details were too complex to explain. Accurately predicting Almaer would trust his sister's word on the matter, she blamed Ionad Mòr-Thìr for Algild's transformation. She also reminded him that it was a knight of Ionad Mòr-Thìr that killed King Ordmaer, and that Ionad Mòr-Thìr had refused the peace envoy she missed his coronation for. Once Almaer's anger had been riled, Begild suggested sending spies into Ionad Mòr-Thìr, to which Almaer eagerly agreed. Almaer was discouraged by the report that came back of a stone wall having been constructed just East of the border. Begild, having already discovered and planned around this, proposed attacking from Ryklân. Lesser defenses on the border between Ionad Mòr-Thìr and Ryklân than on the border between Ionad Mòr-Thìr and Kythelum, as well as Ryklân's bounty of active farmland, were the principle benefits of this strategy. Almaer questioned the idea of making a second enemy in pursuit of the first, but Begild assured Almaer that Ryklân posed no military threat, and the lack of precautions Ionad Mòr-Thìr took against Ryklân was proof of as much. Reluctantly, Almaer agreed. Without telling Almaer, Begild had already planned out much further than the invasion of Ionad Mòr-Thìr. With them and Ryklân conquered, Kythelum would have access to the combined naval might of two nations who had spent the past dew decades fighting each other over an island to the Southeast. These ships would allow them to sail around the coastline to Tussenwateren, which was far enough away that news of Kythelum's conquest would not reach them early enough for them to expect a full-force assault. After occupying Tussenwateren with the navy, Kythelum's army could march North. However strong Wüstengrenze was, they would be hard-pressed to fight a war on two fronts. Finally, the united region would have to be integrated. Begild began constructing a new language to facilitate communication empire-wide, as well as putting the finishing touches on her calendar. After building a sufficiently large and loyal group of soldiers from the remainders of the five nations' militaries, Begild and Almaer could take the fight to Dubain, and they could force him at last to put the interest of the people he was supposedly the patron of over his petty grudge against Ameya. Deal With Adakaku After seeing him through magical means, Begild conducted a meeting with Adakaku to discuss her plan and how it could forward his interests. Thanks to this secret meeting, Begild was able to arrange a deal that prevented herself, her brother, and other important Kythelum aristocrats from being rendered soulless while simultaneously undermining enemy military organizations and providing Kythelum with a steady supply of monsters to capture and militarize.Category:Humanoids